England to win, but Northern and Republic of Ireland to suffer
Tuesday 11 September 2018 20:58, UK
Charlie Nicholas provides us with his predictions for Tuesday night's international fixtures.
Here's what the Arsenal and Celtic legend is predicting for the fixtures live on Sky Sports (33/1 with Sky Bet)
I was disappointed with England on Saturday, while Switzerland beat Iceland 6-0. Gareth Southgate will probably change it a little bit, Marcus Rashford should stay in the team and he might give Harry Kane a rest.
I do expect England, at home, to force the issue a bit. I do expect they will be good enough to win this, and I think Rashford will continue scoring.
Charlie predicts: England to win 2-1 (17/2 with Sky Bet)
I think Spain will have a point to prove here, and I'm amazed Croatia got to where they were in the World Cup. I'm going for a comfortable Spanish win here, and I fancy both Iago Aspas and Rodrigo to get on the scoresheet.
Charlie predicts: Spain to win 3-0 (12/1 with Sky Bet)`
It sounds as though Michael O'Neill is going to give a lot of youngsters a chance because it's a friendly. Israel had a poor result in Albania but can still be a dangerous team.
I think Israel are really good value here, and too many changes will impact Northern Ireland.
Charlie predicts: Israel to win 2-1 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
Republic were awful against Wales. There's plenty of blood and guts in the team but no goals.
I really fancy Poland here. There is only so long you can ask for energy, energy, energy. At the start of campaigns, people are still trying to get fit, it's also as if there are a lot of players out of form getting picked for Republic.
Shane Long is a runner up front, we understand that, and he has played a few times for Southampton this summer, but there are no goals in there. Robbie Brady was their creative spark for a while, and now it's all about working hard and trying to move the ball quicker when they get it. But you are relying on your defence too much.
I think like Scotland, Ireland will be angry, but I think they will be sitting in. I think this will be a cautious Ireland performance, because they look as if they are unsure of what is being asked of them. That's never been the case before.
Charlie predicts: Poland to win 2-0 (33/1 with Sky Bet)
